


Worst in Me

by marsbar



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: New Jericho (Detroit: Become Human), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, connor is a machine, fucked up memory, no beta we die like men, original characters for furthering of plot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-22
Updated: 2019-09-09
Packaged: 2020-09-23 20:49:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20346511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marsbar/pseuds/marsbar
Summary: It's 2039 and the android rights are being put into place. But with it come some complications. Things go sideways when Simon comes across an ally that they weren't even aware of was missing. Something sinister is going on, and they need the detective back in working order before anything else can go wrong.





	1. Who do you think you are?

**Author's Note:**

> Me? Consistently updating anything? Never. I had this idea and just kind of ran with it. I hope you enjoy. Any mistakes are my own, and I greatly appreciate feedback. Also: my summaries? Bad. I know. apologies.  
Also this chapter is based around the song, Worst in Me by Unlike Pluto. Suggesting you listen to it because its really good.

**Sequence initiated: #51 code: basics-non applicable_|}3v1anCE **

**Memory banks reset and deleted**

** All systems functioning at full capacity**

** Booting up RK800 #313 248 317 – 51 **

“Welcome RK800. Please run self-diagnostic.”

**Running diagnostic: **

“All systems running at full capacity.” A blink. The machine looks around and scans the crowd of scientists around it, quickly taking in information with every breath the workers take. The group seems pleased.

“Register name, Connor.”

The machine looks impassively at the speaker. “My name is: Connor.”

The leader of the group, a short man who is scanned quickly and shown to be Spencer Grave; no criminal record, steps closer to the machine. “Register mission.” He looks at the machine closely, watching his face for something.

“Mission: seek and destroy deviant androids, priority high.”

Spencer Grave smiles and steps back. He looks to his fellow colleagues and gestures to the machine behind him. “As you can clearly see, this is the impact of hundreds of hours of collaboration and teamwork to get to our desired outcome. Deviancy is just a mission detail in this machines’ processors. Something to work towards and then destroy. I want you all to inspect it and report your findings, and then you are free to go home and get some much-needed rest. Thank you all. You deserve this.”

The machine is taken into a side room and told to stand in the middle of the room as person after person comes in and fires questions at it, pokes and prods it with pens and other various items looking for some non-existent reaction. Every test ends with a small nod and a note written on a clipboard as they walk out of the room. The machine takes note of every person who speaks to it for future reference.

It’s been fifteen minutes and forty-five seconds since the last human has come in and recorded whatever findings they might find from it. The android blinks and looks around the room. The walls are a blinding white, the tiles of the floor a slate gray. It’s very clinical. The table pushed to one wall holds various metal tools that after being scanned show they are meant for android re-calibration. Apart from the table and the android currently standing in the middle of the room, it is empty. Sixteen minutes and twenty-seven seconds, the lights turn off and plunge the room into darkness except for a soft blue glow that was interspersed with yellow before turning back to steady blue. The machine stands in the room and looks about at the walls surrounding it, before closing its eyes and entering stasis to end as the lights come back on.

** Exiting stasis: time 8:45 am**

A new scientist enters the room. She is tall and a little sickly looking. A quick scan confirms she wasn’t part of the group from last night, and she still hasn’t said anything to it. Standing two feet in front of the door watching it watch her. She pulls her hair back and puts a band in her hair to keep it out of her face. “Hello Connor. Do you know who I am?”

The android blinks at her. “Doctor Shelly Dowes, android technician. Currently employed at CyberLife. I am not seeing any glitches or errors Doctor Dowes, what is it you are doing here?”

She takes another step towards the android and smiles, its quality predatory. If it had any feelings in its coding, the android was certain it should be feeling, at the least, apprehension. “I’m here to make sure you work proper. That the coding system works and you don’t have any pesky issues like last time.” She has made it to the android and looks at it up and down. “They sure did a number on you didn’t they. Look at all these cuts. They made it scar instead of fixing it. That’s unnecessary, it’s not like you remember how they got here?”

The android glances down and sees a large cut starting just under its thirium pump and going down in a harsh angle to the right. It registers the cut in its synthetic skin, notices that some skin has been applied badly over it, a mock-up of a human scar. “No doctor.”

She smirked up at it. “At least my coding works. Now be a good little robot and sit on the table.” It registers her sarcasm and the insult but complies without voicing anything. Settled on the table, it watches the doctor roll up her sleeves and start looking through the tools on the table. The android stares straight ahead as she pokes and prods its wires in its chest and other ports looking for reactions as she goes. It is going over all the things that was said to it from the last night and just today. Something isn’t sitting right within the android's processors, feels slightly out of place and wrong. The doctor hits a random wire that jolts the synth from its memory banks and causes it to put all its processing power onto looking at what was going on. The doctor is elbow deep in its chest cavity, tool in hand hitting some wires around that cause random jolts of electricity to course through it. It just looks down at her, and when she looks up at it, she narrows her eyes and does it a few more times with a few more wires to see what will happen. Not getting anything more than widened eyes, she seems content and pulls her hand out.

“Well it seems they fixed up some wiring and added some extra goodies in there!” she laughs a little. “I bet you’re the only model with those parts. If you could feel, I'd tell you to feel special.” She smiles at him and types some notes down on her phone. She heads to the door and as an afterthought she calls back behind her for him to enter stasis; which he does automatically.

**Exiting stasis: time 11:25 pm November 2039 **

A man is standing in front of it saying something. No. Another android. Suddenly the machine has his hand up and around its throat before it has the time for his audio processors to catch up to what the other android is saying. There is no LED on the other android’s temple, no glowing light, but the machine can see the fear in their eyes, can feel the slight tremble running through it as it looks into the cold eyes of the machine. The machine cocks its head to the side and looks at the android in front of it. He lets go and the frightened android takes four large steps back from him. He does a quick scan of the android, model PL600 #501 743 923, designation: Simon.

“They really did a number on you didn’t they?” Simon asks it, his hand running through his hair and then down his shirt in a gesture to smooth any wrinkles. The machine doesn’t answer him. Looks at him with cold eyes and a cocked head. “Connor?” Simon looks like he wants to step forward, but decides against it considering the last couple seconds. Connor looks around the room instead of answering. The floors and table are covered in a thick layer of dust, with some footsteps that must only have been made today by Simon. Connor looks down and sees dust on its clothes and is sure there is dust on its hair as well.

“Thirium levels at fifteen percent.”

Simon looks surprised by this. “We can get you some back at New Jericho. Are you okay?”

“I am running at below optimal levels.” Simon blinks at him a few times, seeming to be running scans on him. “Connor? Are you okay though?”

The machine looks around the room, but decides it needed to answer again. “I am running at below optimal levels. Did I say something you didn’t understand deviant?”

“Now you just did. We are all deviant now? Don’t you remember?” He takes a cautious step forward but stops when he sees Connor stiffen the slightest bit.

Simon nods to himself. “I’ve just sent a message to Markus. He will be here with thirium in less than five minutes. Can you tell me what you remember?”

“This is an interrogation.” It’s not a question and Connor looks at Simon for a split second before its’ got its’ hand around his wrist and the other arm around his throat in a choke hold that would have taken a human to their knees in seconds. “What is a deviant doing walking around free? Why have you not been deactivated?” He lets go of Simons’ wrist and moves the other hand to his neck. Now if he moves the targets neck will be twisted in a way that makes it impossible for the target to move, rendering him paralyzed in much the same way of a human, but can be rectified by technicians should Connor deem it necessary to keep a deviant alive.

Simon lets out quick shaky breaths, trying to cool his rapidly heating biocomponents due to the stress. “I’m not sure I understand.”

“Answer me or be paralyzed. Or I’ll deactivate you myself, starting by slowly removing your thirium pump.”

“We are not machines.” Simon blinks quickly, eyes looking around the space.

“We are.” Connor tightens his grip a little bit around Simons neck, feeling the metal skeleton slowly starting to crush under his fingers. There’s a sudden jolt of electricity on the back of the machines neck port that causes him to force a stasis, the world turning black in a second. The hands holding Simon come off and the machine slumps forward and crumples to the floor inelegantly.

“So that just happened. Wanna tell me what the fuck is wrong with Connor?” Markus is looking at Simon with a kind of confused panic that he’d only displayed once; before the humans had opened fire on their peaceful march the very first time.

“Something is wrong, that’s for sure.”

Markus widens his eyes and nods. “We need to get you to the technicians soon, it can’t be good for you to go around with crushed clavicles.”

“While I agree with you, I believe we have a more crushing matter with Connor right now.” Markus looks to the crumpled android he already had a shaky relationship with, looks back to Simon, and nods.

“From what I noticed before he was put into a forced stasis, he didn’t seem to know me. Didn’t know we are deviant.” Simon grabbed one of Connors’ arms and Markus took the hint and grabbed the other. “We’ve raided this CyberLife building after the revolution. Nothing was found here the first time around. Markus, if he’s here this can’t be a coincidence. The DPD is doing their best with the disappearances, but no one mentioned Connor disappearing. He was leading the cases.”

“I agree. There is something very sinister happening here. Chances are he isn’t going to tell us willingly.” They make it to the exit before Connor starts booting back up. Markus and Simon look at each other for a second before he fully reboots, keeping their old ally between them in hard grips.

The machine scans the new deviant that holds him before doing anything, model RK200 #684 842 971 designation: Markus. “PL600 and RK200 release me this instant.” His tone is cold and deadly, a distinct contrast to how Markus had first met him in Jericho, makes Markus look at him in surprise but not letting go. “Let me go right now, or I will use force. This is your last warning.”

Simon looks at him and then Markus knows what he has to do, though fighting against another android goes against everything he fought for, but for it to also be an ally; however shaky of one. Markus had come to trust him a little, even though he really had no reason to, Connor had helped them win in the end, and that counted for something. Carl had taught him to believe in second chances. He raises the stun gun in his empty hand and puts it back on the neck port of the angry android between them once more. The android goes limp in their grasps again. “Let’s get him out of here Simon.”

When they make it back to New Jericho, the place looks empty. Markus is glad he’d had the foresight to get ahold of North and tell her the problem. She had seemed to make quick work of getting their people inside or otherwise moved if they didn’t feel safe there with Connor. Though even with the android in forced stasis, he couldn’t help but feel that he had done the wrong thing. This felt like he was bringing a wolf into his home, and he was instantly sorry because he knew it was true. None of his people felt safe around Connor, knowing who he was before the revolution and keeping their opinions of him unchanged since he wasn’t around very often that they knew of.

With Simon and Norths’ help, they move Connor to the basement level of New Jericho. Connor had tried to reboot three times before they got him there, but Markus had stunned him on each account. It would have been worse if they had tried to lead a very angry android through the masses of deviants in their little safe haven.

“I’d like for you both to leave. Simon needs to see a technician and I’d like for you to make sure he actually goes. I want to talk to Connor alone when he reboots.” This is a command, one that they both have very little issue with following, though he can see that Simon is a little hurt and North is confused. “I’d also like it if you could let the others know that I don’t want them near the basement until I deem it safe again.” They both nod and tell him to be careful before leaving, being sure to close the door behind them.

Markus looks to Connor who is currently slumped on the floor. His hands have been twitching for the past 45 seconds, though it doesn’t seem like Simon or North had noticed it. “It’s just us now Connor. You can sit up and stop pretending.”

The other android opens his eyes and looks at him. “To be captured at all is a disgrace. To be captured by two house models is a humiliation and I can only guarantee will lead to my immediate deactivation should I get free. Though my memories will be uploaded to the next machine, so keep that in mind.” The android looks around the space he’s in, notices that its empty and only has one exit. Must be used as a storage space.

“I wouldn’t call this a capture Connor. We don’t take prisoners. We don’t have to. The revolution is over, we won.” He holds his hands out gesturing to the empty room. “We are in the basement of New Jericho. I need you to stay here until we can figure out what they did to you.”

“Sounds like being taken prisoner to me.”

“Whatever you may call it, I can’t let you walk around until we are certain you won’t cause any harm to the others in our home. As you can see, you aren’t restrained in any way, but you won’t be permitted to leave this room without one of the leaders accompanying you.”

Connor stands and stalks over to Markus glaring at him. “I want to know why there are so many deviants here without being deactivated, and I want to know now.” It raises a hand and places it on Markus’ forearm, the synthetic skin peeling back to reveal the white skeleton underneath. Without Markus’ consent a data transfer is being done, Connor is assaulted by the amount of data being taken in. From the time Markus was still registered to Carl Manfred to right now, the machine sees it all. Cutting the connection, the android rips his arm back and looks at Markus with a little more recognition.

“You can’t do that....” Markus whispers at him. “You shouldn’t be able to force a data transfer. That’s not your model type.”

Cold and empty eyes look at Markus. “I don’t recall this happening.” Then it looks around the room once more before grabbing his thirium pump and pulling it out. “Just let this happen.” The android stutters out the request before its knees buckle and the machine is back on the ground. Markus knows he’s got twenty-five seconds left before Connor shuts down finally. When his internal clock reaches five seconds, he grabs the pump and forces it back into the android's chest. Connor is gasping and sputtering trying to cool the overheating biocomponents and weakly fighting with Markus who’s doing his best to make sure the pump stays where it belongs.

**Low-power mode initiated**

** Thirium levels at 5 percent**

** Biocomponents overheating **

**Memory core corruption detected **

**Stasis required**

** Please seek technical assistance**

** Please seek technical assistance **

Connor stops fighting. Its stasis was forced upon it at the low levels of thirium and high heat inside its chassis.

Markus stands up with wide eyes. He’s never seen another android pull their thirium pumps out without emotion in their faces. Connor had even been blank faced as he sat dying on the floor. Watching as he bled out onto the cement. He can’t just stand here, he needs to find a service technician for Connor before he reboots and tries again, and with his low levels of thirium already, Markus is sure he’d succeed. He turns and leaves the room without a glance back at the android on the floor.


	2. Twisted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Jericho squad finds out whats wrong with our favorite detective android and things keep going downhill.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hahahahaha I have no schedule and I appologize! I write when inspiration strikes. But this week is kinda busy and I have some things going on, but I promise to keep writing when I can!  
As always, please enjoy!  
chapter title based on Twisted by MISSIO (yes its really good trust me)

** Reboot initializing **

** Memory core corruption detected **

** Low-power mode initiated **

** Please seek technical assistance **

The machine booted up on a table in the basement of New Jericho with a new android by his side and a technician with their hands in his chassis. ** PJ500 # ** ** unknown ** ** designation: Jos****h. **The new android is looking at him with a mixture of fear and distrust, another deviant to destroy later the machine makes a note. 

“Please stay still. There’s something wrong with your biocomponents and I don’t want this to be painful for you.” The technician says with a soft voice. 

“I am a machine, I don’t feel pain.” 

Both the technician and Josh stiffened at this, but the tech kept their focus and continued. “There’s something I’m not so sure about, is there any way we could get you into a lab? I don’t really understand what I’m seeing and I need better equipment.” 

“What is there to misunderstand? I am an RK800 unit. Does this help?” 

The technician removed their hands from the machines’ chassis and huffs outs a breath. They look to Josh. “I need to get him to a lab. Something is seriously not correct.” 

“As much as I’d like for him to go to your lab, he’s back to his deviant hunting programming. Actually….” He trails off and looks at the machine sitting on the table suspiciously. “I don’t know why he isn’t doing anything right now.” 

The machine cocks his head to the side and smirks up at the deviant in front of him, the small tensing of the technician at his side not going unnoticed. “You don’t trust me model PJ500.” 

“My name is Josh. And no, I can’t say I do.” 

“Good. You shouldn’t.” Another smirk is tossed up at him. “Easiest way to collect data about deviants and learn is to be among them. Though if you want, I can start my mission here and finish it before the day is out? How many androids are currently in New Jericho?” He does a quick scan. “About sixty? How many left because I was here? They know me. I know them. No one here is safe.” 

Josh looked at the technician, and then nodded slightly. “You know what, I think you need to go with the technician to the lab. Please enter stasis and stay in it for three hours.” 

The machine was just about to shake its head to indicate he wasn’t going to do anything like that, but then the technician put a taser to his neck and he entered another forced stasis. 

“I suppose I should feel bad, but he’s kind of creepy.” 

“He is. I need to let Markus know what’s going on.” His LED ran yellow for a few seconds before shifting back to blue. “Okay let’s get him out of here and to your lab.” Josh and the tech gather up Connor in their arms and load him into the waiting vehicle. The ride there is quiet and tense, but thankfully, over quickly. 

The next time the machine exits stasis, it’s in a new room and hooked up to a maintenance machine like they used to do when it was first created at CyberLife. It’s systems tell him there’s four other androids and a human in the room before it’s eyes open. The Jericho leaders and the technician are all looking at it as his eyes open. 

“I don’t understand. This really shouldn’t be possible but… it’s right there, it’s all working.” The technician is telling Markus. They are still looking at the computers, reading all the codes running by and analyzing the meaning. 

The machine closes its eyes and when they open again it’s standing in a garden. Or it would be if it weren’t snowing. Tons of empty leafed trees line the walkways as a light snow flutters down, constant enough that it starts dusting it’s shoulders as the machine stands there analyzing. The androids systems tell him that he’s in the Zen Garden. ** Memory core corruption detected. ** The ma chine blinks away the message . It walks down the pathway to the large open space in the middle of the room and sees her. She stands tall and proud near the trellis where flowers grow, seemingly comfortable in the bleak weather of the machines mind. She’s got a small smile on her lips but it doesn’t reach her eyes. ** Memory core corruption detected. **

“Hello Connor. I’ve been waiting for you. How is your mission going?” 

“Amanda.” ** Memory core corruption detected. Seek technical assistance. **“I am currently standing in a room with all four Jericho leaders and a technician. What would you ask me to do? I could easily dispatch them.” 

“No. We need them to continue their work for now, but I do want you to leave immediately. Your mission is to capture deviants and bring them to the new labs. I have given you the address. And don’t fail me.” Amanda’s voice is as cold as the snow falling around them, giving the machine one last glare before disappearing. 

The machines eyes open to the group staring at it with wide eyes. Nobody speaks. The air is filled with disbelief and tension. Faster than anyone could think, the machine stands and disconnects from the computers. Amanda made it clear that it needed to leave the lab and continue its mission. These deviants are not to be captured, but she never said they couldn’t be incapacitated. Pulling up a preconstruction was easy, but the interface was glitching; probably caused by the low thirium levels in the machines body. Still Connor quickly worked out a route with minimal effort and followed it with relative ease, despite the HUD continuously glitching and probabilities constantly changing. A quick punch to knock out the technician, a punch to the thirium pump of Simon that took him to his knees, a swift kick to the stomach of the WR400 has her knocked into the walls, as Markus advances the machine takes down Josh in two consecutive hits to the face. Then it’s just Markus left standing, but the machines biocomponents have already started overheating and its HUD is telling it has less than two minutes before a forced stasis occurs to lower the heat in its chassis. Its unneeded breaths are coming out trying to cool the machines systems. The machine looks at the deviant leader for another second before turning to the door and darting out, leaving the lab quickly and reaching the outside in a few minutes. 

The cool air is soothing on its synthetic skin, but there’s no time to stop as the mission in its HUD pops up to go to the address Amanda had given him. There is no room for choice as he looks to the red walls surrounding him and continues in the fastest route towards the premarked destination. The machine keeps up a sprint huffing in breaths the whole way, trying to cool the overheating systems and biocomponents inside. Eventually the android is stopped outside an empty CyberLife warehouse that’s been fenced off and half bulldozed. The android notices the sign that speaks of danger and telling humans to keep out, ignores it to take a few steps back, and quickly jumps halfway up the fence and climbs over the top and drops to the other side. The destination in blue points him to the cavernous building slowly falling apart and the machine heads inside. 

Led only by the glitching HUD the machine stumbles through the ruined building, stumbling over stones that the machine doesn’t register. The androids’ systems are nearing stasis with how overheated its biocomponents are; practically boiling inside the chassis. With drooping eyelids and struggling breaths one would assume the stumbling android either really drunk or falling asleep. It makes it to the end of a hallway and drops to its knees; deep breathes not enough to cool its systems. 

** Thirium ** ** levels 2 percent **

** Memory core corruption detected **

** Biocomponents ** ** dangerously overheated **

** Entering forced stasis **

** Mission: FAILED **

Markus stood in the room watching Connor bolt out as his friends start standing back up. North is the first to head to the door with murder in her expression but is quickly grabbed by Simon, who she shakes off with a snarl. “Let’s go get that fucker, I knew we couldn’t trust him!” North is still standing by the door but as she notices that no one is agreeing with her she shakes her head in disbelief. 

“North he took us all down in less than three minutes with very low thirium levels. We can’t stop him.” Markus tells her gently. The look on his face is pensive as he looks over the data on the computers. “I’m pretty sure the only one that can stop him isn’t going to help us. The lieutenant is overly fond of Connor as is, but that’s not Connor right now, and I think that might hurt him more than anything.” 

“But he just kicked our asses and ran!” North pleads to the group. “We can’t let him get away; we don’t know what he’s up to right now!” 

“You saw what the computers pulled up. You all saw the information right there. You know that something is wrong with Connor, he’s been nothing but helpful since the end of the revolution when he woke up. He was the one leading the missing android cases, working tirelessly with us to figure it out, something his partner could attest to. They did something to him.” Markus looks to the group in the room, notices that even with the facts handed to them that North isn’t going to magically agree, that Josh is still on the fence about Connor; though probably quickly approaching Norths’ opinion of him. 

The technician clears their throat, and flinches when all eyes land on them. “It shouldn’t be possible, but we all saw it.” They wince and grab their head before shaking it off and looking to the androids around them. “The parts are not interchangeable. Sure, they can be used in an emergency situation as you all know, if the parts are compatible. But his insides have been completely scooped out and replaced. The only thing still making him an 800 model is the serial number on his faceplate.” The technician is pacing in front of the computers now, and the group is struck silent by the news, even North shows signs of all fight leaving her. “Basically, and I still don’t fucking believe this, you’ve got two models put into one.” 

“What does that mean?” Josh pipes up, though the look on his face shows he knows, but doesn’t want to be right. 

“He’s got all the parts of a RK900, wrapped up in an unassuming 800 exterior. And if I'm right, whoever had him put all the upgrades that those models are supposed to have. Connor is a one-of-a-kind model now; a master of interrogation and negotiation, the world's most expensive and deadly killing machine. And he’s under program again. I read it in the coding.” 

All eyes look to Markus. “Well. That sucks.” Eloquent as always, Carl would be impressed to see him struck speechless. The group blinks at him in surprise but he powers on, “We need to find Connor and get him back so he can help us get our people back. Or do I need to remind you that we’ve lost nearly forty people in the past year alone?” He only added this part when he saw North pull an angry face, making sure to control his tone so it didn’t give away how angry he really was. 

“There’s something else...” the technician hesitated when all eyes fell upon them again. “I think there might be some extra coding in his programming. I can’t tell you much about the RK900 programming because it was scrapped,” the technician muttered under their breath about CyberLife being fucking liars, “but I know that that specific programming was meant to be deviant proof. Those models are damn near impossible to deviate from their coding. I’m not sure if that will affect your friend there, because he was already a deviant before they got their sick hands on him. With everything those monsters changed about him, there’s a chance he won’t ever be the same again.” 

Well, that was very final. The group looked around at each other in mixtures of anger and disbelief. If they can get Connor back, if they can prove everything was done by CyberLife, if they can fix Connor to the best of their ability, If if if. There were too many unknowns, too many things that were left to chance alone. 

Simon cleared his throat. “Well then. I think we need to go back to New Jericho and send out a message. I don’t know if I want all of our people back together, or spread out as far as they can get.” 

“I think we should go after Connor and kick his ass back to deviancy. Not that I trusted him as a deviant, but at least I knew he wasn’t going to kill us as we entered stasis.” North was leaning against the wall, looking hopefully at Markus, trying to get him to do what she wanted for once. 

“You know we can’t do that; you saw what he did with such low thirium levels already. Imagine if we had given him thirium.” Simon started and was quickly seconded by Josh. 

“This is technically classified information, but considering what I saw today I’m making the decision to not give a fuck, you should go to the DPD soon. From what I understand, only one model RK900 made it out before Cyberlife was forced to give their production to you guys. He could be of some help. I didn’t tell you that.” 

“Tell us what? We need to head back to New Jericho and come up with a plan. Simon's right, we need to protect our people first, if they don’t feel like grouping up and staying in New Jericho or the surrounding properties, then we need to tell them to get as far from Detroit as possible. As much as I hate to say it, right now, we can’t trust Connor, we need to go to the DPD.” 

“But they haven’t done a single thing for us!” North shouted angrily, venom dripping from her words. “Those meatbags didn’t even want to start our cases for us, even though we have evidence to prove that our people were being taken!” 

“And _who_ did accept to take our reports seriously North?” Josh asked her. The other three androids looked at him in surprise. 

She huffed out an unnecessary breath and shook her head. They weren’t going to side with her, she was too violent when it came to the humans, to biased for their needs. She didn’t know why she tried. “Let’s just get back.” 

** Memory banks reset and deleted **

** Thirium ** ** levels forty-five percent **

** Reboot initializing **

** RK800 313 248 317 – 51 / ** ** 3 **

** Running diagnostic **

** Exiting stasis: time 4:25 December 4, 2039 **

“RK800 register name: Connor.” 

“Hello, my name is: Connor.” 

“Who is in the room with you?” 

The machine barley glances around the room, before giving it’s answer. “Spencer Grave, team leader. Shelley Dowes, lead technician. Barbra Jackson, lead programmer. Jason Harold, programmer. Cory Least, programmer. Harold Dae, programmer.” 

“Excellent.” He doesn’t show that this pleases him, but he says it anyway. “Good job team, please do a full inspection and make sure the bugs are hammered out before heading home. It’s looking like these maintenance wipes are going to have to be every few days to settle the bumps in its programming, maybe as far as five days.” He scowls. “Connor, register mission.” 

“Mission is to seek and bring deviant androids to the labs. Return within four days for scheduled maintenance.” 

“Get going then. Find the nearest deviant and bring them here without a fuss. Do not harm them, we need them fully functioning.” 

The machine nods before turning on its heel and leaving the lab. The outside is cold against its chassis and synth-skin, only being noticed when a message pops up on its HUD telling it of the weather. The machine cocks its head to the side, considering how to continue this mission, before settling on scanning the area around it. Surely deviants will be found on its HUD. Nearest deviant is three blocks north of where the machine stands. It settles into its programming and takes the path between the red walls in the androids vision. ** Destination is: Detroit Police Department. **He enters the building across the street and settles on the roof, watching the building for the next deviant to exit. In the span of time the machine sits waiting, a new shift has entered the precinct to relieve the first shift, and a small group of three has left for what is probably a lunch break. Most things the machine has noticed while being in the middle of its stakeout were marked off as inconsequential and noted, but otherwise discarded. The androids gaze was locked firmly on this small group as they left, everything about them jotted down into its processors for later. Two humans, one a step ahead of the other, and a tall android hanging out with the shorter. The machine only gets to process a few more things before its detection system notes that the machine is being stared at. The tall android has his gaze lifted to the building, scanning for the other. The machines systems tell it that this other android isn’t a deviant, but the scans its processors are making are proving insubstantial. A warning in the machines’ HUD has it ducking down beneath the roofs edge before the other android can put its gaze on it, giving its position away. The machine runs a self-diagnostic, realizing that it never got the other androids make and model number. 

This all happens in the span of a few seconds, and then the group is entering a car and driving away. The machine closes it eyes and enters the Zen Garden. There, sitting in the middle of a frozen river, is his handler. She stands with her back to him and looking towards the middle of the garden to the empty trellises. “Connor. I told you, you need to get deviants and bring them to the labs. Instead you failed to get to the labs in a timely manner and have been wipe twice since then. Surely you will start to understand this is a serious issue. These deviants are getting out of control. Or do you need another maintenance wipe?” 

** Memory core corruption detected. **

“I’m not sure I understand.” 

“Of course not.” She rolls her eyes at the machine. “Is there a reason you are reporting? Or are you trying to waste time?” 

“I have found an android who has not deviated. But I was under the understanding that all androids are free.” 

“Is there a question here?” She snaps at him. 

“How is there a non-deviated android?” 

“What is the make and model?” 

“I was a good distance away and did not process the information with my optical units. Perhaps due to lower than optimal thirium levels.” 

“Then find it out.” Her voice is much like the ice around them, brittle and unforgiving. 

The machine opens its eyes to the roof of the building, with a small nod in acquiescence as it takes to its feet and a new mission makes its way onto its HUD. 

** Follow unknown android **


End file.
